Two Saudis beheaded for armed robbery

Saudi Arabia beheaded two nationals in the southwestern city of Jizan on Tuesday after they were convicted of armed robbery, the interior ministry announced.

“Mohammed bin Ahmed Kharmi and Musa bin Mohsen Kharmi lured a man and opened fire on him,” the ministry said in a statement published by SPA state news agency, adding the victim, whose identity was not disclosed, was wounded.

The pair “stole the money he was carrying which belonged to the company he works for,” said SPA. They were sentenced to death “due to the danger of their crime.”

In a separate statement, the ministry said a Palestinian identified as Wael Anbar was beheaded in the Red Sea city of Jeddah for stabbing to death a Yemeni, Naser Haqqash.

The beheadings bring to 56 the number of people executed in Saudi Arabia so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on official reports.

Amnesty International puts the number of people executed in the Gulf country last year at 79.

The death penalty is handed down in Saudi Arabia for a wide range of offenses including murder, rape, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking, as stipulated by Islamic sharia law.